The UNC Master of Public Administration program extends its congratulations to one of its own students, MaryBeth Spoehr, for being selected as last month’s Military-Affiliated Grads Scholar by the Graduate School.

Spoehr is pursuing her MPA degree while completing research into identifying key similarities in North Carolina city charters that contribute to a stable local government. This research is evidenced by city bond ratings, which are important because they are external agency evaluations that certtify the creditworthiness of a given municipality. Through the identification of similarities between highly-rated cities, Spoehr is hoping to help other local governments take the key steps needed to improve their respective bond rating scroes and subsequently provide the needed infrastructure and improvements to improve their municipality.

With this desire to improve local government management in mind, Spoehr said she knew UNC-Chapel Hill would be the right fit when exploring prospective programs.

“Choosing UNC-Chapel Hill to study in the School of Government was an easy choice,” she said. “I knew that I wanted to receive an education from – and be part of – an organization that values and emphasizes public service.”

Following her undergraduate studies, Spoehr commissioned into the United States Army as an intelligence officer. She served on active duty as a captain for five years, an experience she categorized as vital in preparing her in the transition to a largely virtual academic experience.

“The military taught me the skills to adapt to new challenges and new environments,” she said. “An unexpected challenge of the virtual learning format was the lack of interaction with others in my cohort. I relied on my experiences of building a team when geographically distant to build connections with my peers and to enhance my learning experience.”

Looking ahead to a future after completing the program, Spoehr hopes to continue the tradition of service that has defined her career – whether it be in the military or in the classroom.

“I want to continue public service in local government within North Carolina. The degree from UNC-Chapel Hill equips me with the knowledge, resources, and network to contribute to local government leadership.”

The MPA program once again congratulates Spoehr on this honor, and looks forward to seeing her accomplishments in the public service field.

Master of Public Administration students at the UNC School of Government participated in two special graduation ceremonies this past weekend. These events, one held fully online, and one held in socially distanced Kenan Stadium, lauded the accomplishments of the December 2020 and May 2021 graduates.

An Intimate Online Gathering for MPAs

On Sunday, May 16, the UNC MPA program hosted a small online ceremony for August 2020, December 2020, and May 2021 graduates and their family members. View the online event here.

Staff took care to send each graduate a box in advance of the event, containing regalia cords, a printed invitation and program, an MPA program lapel pin, and some tokens from life in Chapel Hill including UNC A to Z: What Every Tar Heel Needs to Know About the First State University. The intimate ceremony featured a mix of live and pre-recorded remarks.

As is tradition at MPA program graduation, faculty member Carl Stenberg presided over the Deil Wright Research Paper Award in honor of former faculty member and public administration thought leader Deil Wright. He presented the 2020 award to Maggie Aron Bailey and the 2021 award to Alice Brown and thanked the Wright family for their generous support of the program.

Faculty member and alumna Margaret Henderson ‘90 presented the Nanette Mengel Communication Award. Former faculty member Nanette Mengel taught communications-related courses across campus and left the School of Government a scholarship fund for students. Maggie Aron Bailey (2020 winner) and Elizabeth Stalford (2021 winner) were celebrated for their outstanding graduation portfolios.

Keynote speaker Kirsten Wyatt ’02 is the executive director and co-founder of Emerging Local
Government Leaders (ELGL), a national network of young local government professionals. Her advice to the graduates contained practical nuggets of wisdom for public administration careers, such as “your career is a jungle gym, not a ladder,” “always go to the potluck,” “innovation starts with empathy,” and “life is hectic, but true leaders, mentors, and friends are never too busy to help somebody else.”

“A life lived in service is a life well lived,” Wyatt added. “There is no one right way in a career that is focused on public service.“

Graduation is an opportunity each year for the Alumni Association Board Chair to pin the graduates with their MPA program lapel pin as they process across the stage. Corey Petersohn ’16 led a virtual pinning ceremony after graduates’ names were read.

UNC School of Government Dean Mike Smith addressed the graduates. “You leave Carolina with a set of skills you can apply to any future situation. You are ready and we need you.” Quoting historian Stephen Ambrose, he said, “Optimism always is justified. Whatever the future brings, I am optimistic that you can handle it. You’re smart, creative, hard working. You are good, and you will do good. MPA graduates, you are here this afternoon because you have demonstrated that you are ready for anything. We’re proud of you. We look forward to following your careers and also continuing to support you as public service leaders.”

Smith also thanked MPA Program Director Bill Rivenbark who hosted the ceremony in his final semester as director before a new faculty member takes the helm of the program in fall 2021. “As you graduates pursue your careers and become public service leaders, you’re not only carrying out the mission of the MPA program, you’re carrying out the mission of the nation’s oldest public university,” concluded Rivenbark.

A Sunny Ceremony in Kenan Stadium

On Saturday, May 15, about 20 MPA graduates participated in UNC-Chapel Hill’s ceremony reserved for the School of Government, School of Law, Kenan-Flagler Business School, and School of Information and Library Science. It was one of six distinct ceremonies held over three days in Kenan Stadium for audiences of limited size due to social distancing and outdoor gathering capacity requirements in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. View the recorded event here and the online program here.

The speakers recalled how tough the past year—between the pandemic, political unrest, and economic uncertainty—has been on the Chapel Hill community. Many also mentioned how this community—the University, its students, faculty and staff, and health system—is poised to lead through challenging times.

“The ways you’ve had to endure and fight through this pandemic will pay dividends someday. You have adapted, and the lessons of this year are important and worth celebrating,” said UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz in his opening statement. “You will face other challenges in your life … I hope you will look back on 2020 and think about how you’ve persevered, how you’ve helped others amid the struggles, and the obstacles you have faced.”

Many University figures provided remarks, including Board of Trustees Chair and MPA alumnus Richard Stevens ‘74. Stevens earned his bachelor’s, master’s and JD degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill. “Last year was my 50th class reunion, and I’m still being shaped by this university…. As an alumnus once said, you may work on Wall Street, or you may work on Main Street. But don’t ever forget Franklin Street. Never forget what this university has given you. And in time, I know you will find ways to give back to the university.”

Two keynotes were delivered by scientists and public servants on the forefront of the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Anthony S. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he oversees an extensive research portfolio focused on infectious and immune-mediated diseases. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, a Hillsborough native and 2014 PhD graduate in microbiology and immunology from the UNC School of Medicine, is a post-doctoral research fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Vaccine Research Center. In this role, she conducts basic and preclinical research and worked on preclinical development of the mRNA-1273 vaccine against COVID-19. Both received honorary degrees from the University during this ceremony.

Both speakers noted the historic and unprecedented challenges of the past year for students. “How you have responded to this pandemic thus far gives me confidence that you will adjust and you will thrive,” said Fauci. “You are going to play an important role in shaping this new normal. Perhaps it can even be a better normal.

Corbett’s remarks focused on the importance of home and Carolina as a home for those lucky enough to be a part of this community. “The beautiful thing about this moment, as you leave this place, a place that has shaped you for the past four years, is that you now have the privilege to decide where you go from here,” said Corbett. “Remember that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. You are going exactly where you are destined to go.”

The School of Government is proud to announce that Shannon H. Tufts has been selected as the faculty recipient of the 2021 Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award by the Carolina Center for Public Service. The Bryan Award recognizes individual students, faculty, staff, and organizations at UNC-Chapel Hill for extraordinary public service and engagement.

Tufts currently serves as the director of the School’s Center for Public Technology (CPT) and teaches and advises on public sector information systems as a faculty member at the School. She has been selected for this honor in recognition of this outstanding expertise and her masterful direction of the CPT—specifically regarding her work to assist public officials in responding to cyber threats across the state.

Tufts was presented the award on Thursday, April 15, in a virtual ceremony held by the Center for Public Service. In his opening remarks, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said, “It’s important to recognize those who have gone above and beyond and taking the grand challenges of our time and seeking to make the world a better place.”

Tufts has spent the last two decades addressing the needs of information technology professionals working in local and state government. In her role as CPT director, she provides education and training for public sector leaders, managers, and staff professionals on the strategic use of technology and its application to the business of government. The Center also provides technical assistance on technology-related matters in the public sector, such as responding to cyberattacks on local governments, among other functions.

“Shannon represents the very best of the School and its work,” said School of Government Dean Mike Smith.

Early on in her career at the University, Tufts recognized that she could play an important role by steadily elevating the visibility and importance of information technology in the public sector. She designed and implemented the first local government Certified Government Chief Information Officers (CGCIO™) program in the United States and continues to run CGCIO™ programs for local government, state agency, K-12, and community college IT professionals across the United States. The various CGCIO™ programs have graduated hundreds of IT professionals across the country.

In her role as associate professor at the School, Tufts teaches courses on public sector information systems—including IT investment strategies, embracing technology, project management, and stakeholder engagement in technology-enabled government. Her students include public sector CIOs, court officials, newly elected legislators, and municipal and county administrators and officials, from clerks to attorneys to HR directors to property tax assessors. She also teaches as a core faculty member in the School’s Master of Public Administration program.

In 2019, Tufts was invited to join the NCLGISA IT Strike Team to help local government staff in the wake of natural disasters and cyberattacks. Now, she works in concert with the NC Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) Enterprise Security and Risk Management Office, the North Carolina National Guard’s cyber response team, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This past fall, Tufts discussed the passion she has for her work with The Well. “I absolutely love my job. I’ve been here for 20 years, and I would never want to go anywhere else,” she said. “I love our mission. I love that we serve our communities in this state. Every single day, the School of Government helps make the work of our public servants more meaningful and more informed.”

A North Carolina native, Tufts said she feels a special connection and sense of pride of the outcomes of her work.

“I think the mission of the University and really focusing on public service is unbelievably important and we should do as much as we can,” said Tufts in her award acceptance remarks. “Everything that we do in the field we bring back into the classroom…because the goal is, ultimately, to secure all of our North Carolinian information in the best possible way.”

The School extends its congratulations to Shannon Tufts for receiving this honor and its gratitude for her indelible work helping local governments become champions of the complex field of IT and elevating this important profession in communities across North Carolina and beyond.

In January, the UNC MPA program announced a big change. After creating new vision and mission statements during last year’s strategic planning process, faculty voted to transition from the portfolio requirement, which has been in effect since fall 2012, to an applied research problem, which will serve as the new thesis substitute.

Under the new requirement, students will choose from among faculty-generated, real-world research problems that examine managerial, policy, or administrative questions, and will produce an independent applied research response. The response, which will include evidence-based recommendations, will have a maximum length of 15 pages, intended to assess a student’s ability to distill information into a concise end product that highlights the information most salient and important.

Each student will be assigned a three-member faculty committee to review and approve the research problem response. Once approved by their committee, students will sit for an oral exam to answer questions about their recommendations and the evidence cited, in addition to broader questions about public administration.

“While there are important benefits to the portfolio, like critical thinking and knowledge integration, the MPA faculty recognized an opportunity to revise the thesis substitute and to take greater advantage of our affiliation with the broader School of Government,” Dr. Bill Rivenbark, Program Director, wrote in a January 22 email to staff, students, and faculty. “With its finger on the pulse of state and local government in North Carolina, the School of Government understands the scope and depth of real-time problems facing public officials. Therefore, an applied research problem for graduating students will allow them to demonstrate active learning and problem-solving skills.”

Norma M. Riccucci, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration, virtually delivered the 2021 Deil S. Wright Lecture at the UNC School of Government on Thursday, April 8, speaking on the topic of “Preparing People of Color for 21st Century Jobs: Unfulfilled Promises and Lost Opportunities.”

In her presentation, Riccucci provided numerous statistics regarding the growth of jobs in the traditional workforce, including in the sectors of computer science and information technology due to the continued shift from manufacturing-based jobs to service and technology-based jobs.

While she noted there is a significant increase across different races and ethnicities, there are still large systemic and institutional discrepancies preventing Black workers from benefiting from this increase. Production, transportation, and material moving occupations remain most populated by African Americans, which Riccucci attributed to the lack of resources for public education in low-income communities and inadequate job training among this demographic.

“The pervasive institutional and structural biases in the workforce must be addressed if people of color are to achieve social, political, and economic equality,” she said.

Riccucci expressed that in order to sustain this shift from industrial jobs to service and technology jobs for workers of color, the federal government should invest more into training and public education. This effort must be a federal initiative, she stated, as there are large inequities in public education spending among states. Riccucci proffered that systemic failures to train and educate people of color has directly contributed to employment prospects for communities of color.

Riccucci is the author of numerous publications and books, including most recently, Policy Drift: Shared Powers and the Making of U.S. Law and Policy (New York University Press, 2018). Riccucci’s research interests lie in the broad area of public management, with specific interests in social equity policies and representative bureaucracy.

In 2002, the MPA Alumni Association honored Professor Deil Wright for his 34 years of teaching MPA students by creating the Deil S. Wright Lecture in Public Administration. Each year, a distinguished professional from the field of public administration enriches the educational experience of students, alumni, faculty, and interested members of the community.

To watch the stream of Riccucci’s 2021 lecture, please click here.

Big congratulations are in order to current online format student Tiffany Oliva and her team for winning 1st place in the North America NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Challenge competition held last month. Her team will compete in the global competition tomorrow, Friday, April 16th. You can watch her team compete in the final round of this year’s competition, which will be live-streamed here.

Oliva, along with current MPA online format students Jeana Taylor, Meredith Marlier, Jane Kaufmann, and on-campus format student Chase Loudermelt were selected to represent the UNC MPA program at the 2021 Student Simulation, a day-long event that allows graduate students in public policy and related fields across the world to test their skills on real-world data.

Each year, the Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming develops an original participatory simulation on a topic of relevance. This year’s topic was, not surprisingly, pandemic oriented. Past topics have included Global Migration and Sustainable Cities. The simulations employ a realistic situation, and participating students are randomly place in teams of five. Each team, under limited time, is provided information on the problem. They are then tasked with creating a policy memo and giving a presentation, which is judged and scored by subject area experts.

Professional development opportunities like this allow for skill building in areas of negotiation, decision making, and teamwork. “We encourage students to participate in professional development opportunities such as the NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Challenge because it helps students apply theory to practice and gain important skills to support career growth,” said Allison Binkley, Associate Director for Career Services and Professional Development for the MPA program.

We appreciate all of our UNC MPA students, and we would like to especially recognize our four online students and one on-campus student who participated in this opportunity even though the competition was held virtually.

Oliva was placed with students from VCU, the University of Missouri, and NYU.

“The NASPAA-Batten competition was an opportunity for me to apply some of the skills I have learned in UNC’s MPA program to make quick, team decisions about economic, health, and equity policy to contain a pandemic outbreak,” she said. “It was a fun learning experience, and I am excited to have moved on to compete in the global round of the competition with our team of students from NYU, VCU, and the University of Missouri.”

Tune in Friday, April 16, 2021 to watch the top four teams compete in the final round of this year’s NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition on Pandemic 2.0. This event will be live-streamed here via YouTube.

The UNC Master of Public Administration program has once again been named one of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” by U.S. News & World Report.

The program is among the top 20 public affairs programs in the nation, maintaining its 19^th ranking overall in 2022 and remaining the top-ranked public MPA graduate program in North Carolina. In addition, the program retained its prestigious second-ranked position in the nation for its local government specialty area and improved two spots to 13^th-best in the public management and leadership field.

“We are delighted that UNC MPA continues to be ranked as one of the best programs in the nation by our peers, including our stellar reputation in local government management,” said Program Director Bill Rivenbark. “Our rankings play a major role in helping us recruit the very best students to our program, which is fundamental to accomplishing our mission of preparing public service leaders.”

The 2022 list marks the third consecutive improvement or maintenance of a highly-ranked specialty area offered by UNC MPA.

This year’s rankings included updated rankings for graduate programs in public affairs; public health schools and programs; business; engineering; and library and information studies, as well as doctoral program rankings in economics, English, history, sociology, political science, and criminology and criminal justice. In addition, the Report released its first-ever standalone ranking on student diversity for medical and law schools.

Find all of the U.S. News & World Report rankings online and learn more about other graduate programs at UNC-Chapel Hill and their rankings.

The UNC School of Government’s Master of Public Administration program is ranked among “America’s Best Graduate Schools” by U.S. News & World Report. The program improved two positions since the 2020 rankings, ranking 19th overall in the public affairs category and maintaining its ranking as second in the nation in the local government specialty area.

The program also retained its status as 15th best in the public management field. The 2021 list marks the third consecutive improvement for the program’s overall ranking in the public affairs category.

In addition to ranking master’s degree programs in public affairs, this year U.S. News & World Report ranked master’s degree programs in social work, public health, health care management, physician assistant and rehabilitation counseling, and doctorate degrees in veterinary medicine.

Find all of the U.S. News & World Report rankings online and learn more about other graduate programs at UNC-Chapel Hill and their rankings.

On Tuesday, March 23, the UNC MPA program hosted “Celebrating Black Public Service Leadership,” a special topics webinar featuring panelists Jonathan Morgan, Albert and Gladys Coates Distinguished Term Professor of Public Administration and Government; Monica Allen, Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation for Mecklenburg County and MPA adjunct faculty member; Adrienne Woods, Executive Director of Safe Passages, Inc. and current UNC MPA student; and Darren Allison, Program Analyst for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and UNC MPA class of 2017 alumnus.

The conversation included topics ranging from panelists’ motivations for choosing a public service career, the figures that inspire them in their daily work, and their thoughts on the challenging but crucial task of improving equity and inclusion in the public sector.

“During the early years of my career, I often found myself being the youngest – and in many cases, the only – person of color sitting around the table in certain meetings and settings,” Morgan said. “I think that just by showing up, we as people of color contribute to equity and diversity.”

Allen highlighted the importance of embedding equity in organizational processes, pointing to the creation of an equity and inclusion office in Mecklenburg County in response to the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. “As Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, my contribution is the means to the end in terms of determining the strategies that we need to put in place, and the data and metrics we need to help us track success,” Allen said.

Woods mentioned the importance of applying an equity lens to hiring processes, underscoring the importance of being intentional about bringing on team members who will contribute to an environment of inclusion. She cautioned attendees not to look only at what’s on paper when making hiring decisions, “but to hear what a candidate is saying and what they’re not saying.”

While Allison used to believe the creed of “treat others the way you want to be treated” was enough in terms of a guiding value for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, he told attendees that a recent unconscious bias course he took helped him realize he may have been missing the mark. “I think that taking a targeted, more active approach to DEI, and seeking out training opportunities to gain concrete skills, has allowed me to learn and be more self-reflective,” he said. “I think that has helped me become a better co-worker, leader, and public servant, and ultimately produce better work.”

The event was one of many recent efforts undertaken to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the UNC MPA program. Other efforts have included a special reading assignment and discussion on DEI in public service during the class of 2022’s summer orientation, a fall 2020 five-workshop DEI training series for faculty, and a spring 2021 faculty and staff DEI training session. The School of Government is currently in the process of hiring a faculty member specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public sector, who will further enrich SOG and MPA course offerings.

“There is so much I think attendees gained through listening to our panelists – that a public service career is a great way for a person to contribute to making places better,” Cara Robinson, Director of Admissions in the UNC MPA program, and panel facilitator, said. “I hope they were able to see the program’s commitment to improving efforts in the DEI space, to recognize and celebrate our long lineage of diverse public service leaders who are out there doing great things, and most importantly, I hope they found meaning and motivation in the panelists’ words for themselves and their work.”

On February 3, 2020, the City of Durham’s Budget and Management Services division held interviews for their annual summer internship position at the UNC School of Government. Molly Gaskin ’21 was offered the position and excitedly accepted, looking forward to achieving her professional work experience (PWE) requirement and learning the inner workings of the City’s government through budget sessions, shadowing police officers, and going on solid waste ride-alongs. Then COVID-19 happened.

“Several parts of our job description and onboarding process instantly went out the window,” said Pat Madej ’16, Gaskin’s supervisor and senior budget and management analyst for the City of Durham. “The task of getting the actual work done felt easy, but clearing these hurdles to organically meet with other staff meant we needed to get creative as we brought Molly into the department and organization’s culture.” In order to ensure Gaskin was still able to integrate into the organization, Madej created an “open-door policy” on Zoom and led daily full-team check-ins.

Additionally, Gaskin had the opportunity to lead an original qualitative research project examining whether departments considered equity implications when making budget requests. Before beginning, Gaskin had never conducted her own qualitative research.

“It was really great to be able to practice some of the techniques that we learned in our research course in an actual project that I got to see through from start to finish,” Gaskin said.

“Molly’s thorough research and fresh perspective provided us with really useful data that we will use to build on our process in the future,” Madej said. “My goal with hosting the PWE has always been to create a win for everyone, and I think we achieved that again.”

While Durham has hosted UNC MPA interns for many years, the Town of Holly Springs took the leap for the first time in 2020, hosting Clay Fleming ’21. Like Madej, Corey Petersohn ‘16 had a vision for Fleming’s PWE experience that would require re-working after the pandemic began. However, by the time Fleming started the position in May, the state had moved into phase two, so he joined Petersohn and the rest of the team in person with safety precautions.

Fleming’s experience was shaped not only by the pandemic, but also by the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. As protests spread around the country, Holly Springs residents began a movement of their own to demand that funds be allocated to purchase body cameras for the police department.

“I got to sit in on conversations with council members, the town manager, police, and IT, and everyone had varying perspectives,” Fleming said. “One of the biggest skills I took away is the ability to step back and look at an issue with a bird’s eye view to investigate what’s at the heart of what’s going on and understand people’s motivation.”

Despite the curveballs thrown by the pandemic, Petersohn, like Madej, feels the PWE experience was extremely valuable.

“This was the first time Holly Springs hosted a PWE, and it was a great learning experience for both Clay and us,” Petersohn said. “In the long term, by hosting an MPA intern, we are building the next generation of public service leaders. By offering these developmental opportunities to students, we are contributing to the diversity of their experiences and skill sets, from which we all can benefit.”

Interested in hosting a summer intern or learning about best practices for remote internships? Contact Kristin Pawlowski at pawlowski@sog.unc.edu or visit tinyurl.com/HireCarolinaMPA.